John Tortorella joins crowded field of potential offseason NHL coaching candidates

The Redemption Stories

They got a shot, didn't capitalize on it and haven't held an NHL head- coaching job since. They are listed with the team they served with as head coach.

Notables:  Drew Bannister (St. Louis), Jeremy Colliton (Chicago), Dominique Ducharme (Montreal), Don Granato (Buffalo), Derek Lalonde (Detroit), Luke Richardson (Chicago), D.J. Smith (Ottawa), Jay Woodcroft (Edmonton).

Bannister, an accomplished AHL coach, lost his job after Boston fired Jim Montgomery, leading to St. Louis scooping up its former assistant bench boss and sending Bannister walking without ever having served a full season as head coach.

Woodcroft took Edmonton to the 2023 Western Conference finals before a disastrous start to the 2023-24 season ended in his quick firing. Granato and Smith earned acclaim for developing young talent, but neither helped their respective teams in Buffalo and Ottawa get over the hump during lengthy rebuilds. 

Ducharme (now with Vegas) and Colliton (now with New Jersey) had very different paths to their firings but are back on benches as assistants.

The Coaching 'Prospects'

These coaches haven't served as a head coach in the NHL. The coaches listed with an NHL designation are assistants. 

Notable Names:  Aaron Schneekloth (AHL Colorado), Dan Muse (NHL New York Rangers), David Carle (NCAA Denver), Jay Leach (NHL Boston), John Gruden (AHL Toronto), Karl Taylor (AHL Milwaukee), Marc Savard (NHL Toronto), Marco Sturm (AHL Ontario), Michael Peca (NHL New York Rangers), Todd Nelson (AHL Hershey)

These coaches may have the worst odds of earning the call to the big league every year, but at least one of them is probably going to break through. 

Carle, 35, is the obvious name. He is the youngest coach in NCAA history to win two championships and is a back-to-back gold-medal winner for Team USA at the World Junior Championships. He can pretty much call his shot. He has indicated it would take a big offer to get him out of the University of Denver. 

Nelson has won three Calder Cups in five seasons for two different AHL teams. Leach and Savard were hot names last offseason who jumped into assistant coaching jobs after enormous success as head coaches at lower levels. Taylor was a finalist for Nashville's open head-coaching job that went to Andrew Brunette in 2023.